[acjohnson55]

I think you're misunderstanding the concepts of white supremacy and white privilege. Most white Americans do not trace their ancestry to slave owners, even those whose ancestors were in the US before emancipation. Likewise, not all Black Americans are descendants of slaves in the US or the broader Americas.

Nonetheless, we're a country where Black Americans are subject to all sorts of disadvantages. My parents experienced the segregated South. It wasn't that long ago. The attitudes that allowed for de jure segregation to persist didn't simply disappear in the 60s. No reparations were made for 350 years of de jure oppression. This casts a long shadow materially and societally.

Generally, few people think of white people as being hardcore white supremacists simply for being white. Although I would say that Black people do want to see white people be actively anti-white supremacy, not just neutral, because white people are still the demographic majority and wield overwhelming political and economic power. So basically, there can be no justice to be found for Black Americans without the active participation of white people.

[rajin444]

> No reparations were made for 350 years of de jure oppression

This is what all the other posters are saying. Nearly everyone has some ancestry that was oppressed for an extended period of time and they are not receiving reparations for it. Why should black Americans be different?

When you consider how small changes made early amplify over time, there’s other groups of people with orders of magnitude greater claims to reparations.

[dvngnt_]

http://www.mnchurches.org/blog/2021/02/18/holocaust-survivor...

[rajin444]

Yes, people who were wronged and are still alive should be compensated.

Punishing the son for the sins of the father is not healthy for society nor fair.

[alsaaro]

I think one of the presumptions for reparations is that any form of compensation would come from government, not any sole specific race.

[jahewson]

But the government’s money comes from taxes. In the end it’s effectively a balance transfer, just like the high price of housing is balance transfer from the young to the old. It’s a zero-sum game. That’s not to say that it’s bad - but let’s be perfectly honest about what it is. You can’t make one group of people richer without making the other comparatively poorer. See for example, the 1% vs the rest of us. Unless of course, you’re investing that money in, say, education, or small businesses which grow the economy - and that might be a good idea.

[krzyk]

Government doesn't have some magic basket of their own money. It all comes from the people.

[acjohnson55]

People who are oppressed should receive reparations, and there are many examples of this actually happening and many ongoing movements in cases where it hasn't:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reparations_(transitional_just...

I'm not here to play Oppression Olympics and say that Black people deserve reparations more than anybody else. This push to compare and contrast often is used to deflect, delay, and ultimately disrupt the solidarity of marginalized people. So I only ask that people just understand the plight of Black folks in America in and of itself, and ask themselves what feels just.

This piece makes a compelling summary of the situation of Black folks in the US:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-cas...

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if reparations never happen for Black Americans within my lifetime. But that doesn't mean it's not justified. At the very least, what most Black people demand is a fair shake at jobs, wealth, security, and dignity. It is violations of these basic human rights and justice that get us out in the streets.

[badpun]

> No reparations were made for 350 years of de jure oppression.

Most history books are filled with stories of gross injustices, exploitations or just plain horrors. Hardly any of those are ever later compensated by any reparations - that’s just how the world goes.

[klyrs]

Except for the plantation owners. They got paid reparations for their "loss" of slaves who were freed. The rich get richer, fuck the poor; that's just how the world goes. Why in the world would anybody strive for better?